Sandra Pianalto, who has served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, announced she will be retiring early next year after being in the job for a decade.

Ms Pianalto’s departure may not mean too much for monetary policy. She is known for being a centrist, predictable official on the Federal Open Market Committee, backing the chairman’s view without offering positions that are either too dovish or too hawkish.

Ben Bernanke, Fed chairman, issued an effusive statement on Thursday: “Sandy has been a remarkable colleague who has made invaluable contributions to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Federal Reserve System, and the country. We will miss her thoughtful insights and leadership across a broad range of issues, including monetary policy, payments policy, and community development.” Read more

A woman footballer walks down some stairs into a brightly lit cellar, carrying a dirty ball. She bounces the ball, strikes, and it lands perfectly in a high-end Miele washing machine as an unseen crowd cheers. The woman (whose face and head we never see) sets the wash cycle to “leather” and sits on top of the washing machine while the ball is washed.

The voiceover says: “Clean[1] ball in Sweden. The European women’s championship on ZDF.”

The World

with Gideon Rachman

Gideon became chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times in July 2006. He joined the FT after a 15-year career at The Economist, which included spells as a foreign correspondent in Brussels, Washington and Bangkok. He also edited The Economist’s business and Asia sections.

His particular interests include American foreign policy, the European Union and globalisation